NHS 1965 News

Bob Tralle died Monday, July 12, 2010 in his home in Nerstrand.  A retired millwright, he knew how to work and how to relax.  He had been diagnosed with cancer about three years ago, and was still doing oral chemotherapy, but his death at this time was unexpected.

Two weeks ago he told his cousin, classmate Cheryl Hall Nesseth, that he was feeling the best he had in three years, and that he was considering joining his classmates in August at Castle Rock as a first-time Reunion participant.   He introduced her to his pride and joy that day, his “new” silver 1947 Pontiac Streamliner with a V6.

A gearhead and car lover, he was a NASCAR fan and went to the Daytona 500 with Northfield friends Les Ferris and David Sorem for many years.  He also loved going to antique car shows in Iowa and Minnesota.  But the last few years, he’d discovered the beauty of Puerto Rican sunrises and sunset, and stayed there for a month every winter, and that is where his ashes will be scattered.

He had developed a love of wildlife and bird photography, and enjoyed the birds who visited his backyard feeders or stayed in the many birdhouses he provided.  His many friends will remember him as a regular in Dennison at the Fireside Lounge and MarLea’s. (He was a part owner in Ruby’s, now closed.)

There won’t be a memorial service, but Bob is survived by his Mom, his sister Nancy, and brother Steve, and both classmate cousins Tenetta Anderson and Cheryl Nesseth, as well as other extended family members.

Written by Evelyn (Peterson) Thomas

Official Robert Tralle Obituary on the web site under Departures.

A different perspective: Northfield artist hoping her work with mirrors, windows and steel drives gallery-goers curiosity
By: Pauline Schreiber of the Faribault Daily News
Posted: Sunday, November 2, 2008 12:12 am

FARIBAULT — A castle made of mirrors, metal and glass is ready for the imaginations of those who view it at the Paradise Center for the Arts gallery this month.

And, the artist who created it is just as ready as anyone to walk around it and watch how light glints off its mirrored surfaces and shadows and light play off the walls.

Jennifer Wolcott, a rural Northfield artist, works Thursday to assemble a castle she created out of mirrors, metal and glass.

“I had a concept for the castle, but wasn’t sure how it would turn out,” said Northfield artist Jennifer Wolcott, as she walked around the assembled work in the Paradise gallery.

“Isn’t it fun?” she said.

A lace-edge table cloth is cut from steel, windows formed with pictures of windows, mirrored walls and layers of images are sandblasted on glass walls trimmed in metal.

Wolcott hopes both young and old who come and see her gallery show, “Black and White: Multiples and Variation,” find it as much fun to view as she had creating it.

Besides the castle, there are bungee jumping birds, book-head dancers and black and white party hats.

“There’s going to be sheets of paper and instructions so kids, or even adults, can make their own party hats,” Wolcott said.

Her hope is that gallery-goers who opt to make a party hat at home, bring them back and put them at the base of her party hat display for more “variation” on black and white.

Wolcott spent 25 years working for Sheldahl Inc. of Northfield as a process engineer before being laid off. She qualified for displaced worker assistance, so she went back to college at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, graduating with honors in 2003.

Since her graduation, she has created sculptures in her rural Northfield studio.

“I am driven by curiosity,” she said. “I respond to the colors and forms of the world and try to figure out how to use them and why they have the effect they do.”

Torches, hammers and kilns are her tools.

A reception at which people can meet Wolcott and view her work will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7 in the Paradise gallery.

Posted by Norm Larsen and Pat Nelson